New changes to Victorian heavy vehicle road regulations

Following years of research and consultation with local organisations, VicRoads has amended its regulations applying to the movement of oversized agricultural vehicles that is expected to lift a huge burden off farmers' shoulders.

“Like most industries, the agricultural industry has experienced pressure to be more efficient and productive, to reduce costs both for the local logistics chain and for export to other countries,” VicRoads said.

“To meet this demand, agricultural equipment has grown in size and weight and based on anecdotal evidence, a good deal of this equipment does not meet the mass and dimension limits set in Victoria’s current Gazette Notice.”

The changes deal with machinery height, length, width, use of pilot vehicles and access to road networks, as highlighted by VicRoads’ new heavy vehicle road networks map. The map shows which routes farmers are able to access, which ones require permits and which are restricted.

The new and improved Victorian Class 1 Agricultural Vehicle Exemption Notice 2017 (No.1) came into effect late last year.

The Tractor and Machinery Association of Australia (TMA), which worked closely with VicRoads on the legislation changes welcomed the good news.

“Throughout the gazette, there are a number of improvements to accommodate the increased size of equipment,” said TMA Executive Director, Gary Northover.

“For example, you used to be able to operate up to 5m in height, in the new legislation you can get an annual permit to transport a 6.5m vehicle.”

In addition, farmers can now apply for a single trip permit to transport air seeders up to 9m in width in broadacre areas only.

“Following consultation with the Victorian Farmers Federation, it was pointed out that there are a handful of air seeders, when folded for transport, have a width of 9m,” VicRoads stated.

“Consequently, to accommodate these air seeders, the width limit has been increased accordingly.”

The length of vehicles that can be operated on Victorian roads has also been increased from 15m to 25m without a permit in flat and broadacre areas, while operators wishing to move comb trailers, augers and conveyors with lengths up to 40m need to apply for an annual permit.

Under the new rules, field bins fitted with auger discharge pipes can also operate on roads without permits, only if the rear overhang does not exceed 6.5m.

The rear overhang limit for conveyors and augers has been increased to 10m, with a permit available for a maximum rear overhang of 20m.

The new VicRoads legislations have also introduced a complete overhaul of pilot vehicle requirements. For example, where machinery exceeds 5m in width, two pilot vehicles are required, one at the front and one at the rear. Where the width exceeds 6.5m, two certified pilots are required, one each at the front and rear of the machine.

See full list of guidelines and changes

Throughout the consultation process with VicRoads, TMA sought input from its members across most states which consist of OEMs, dealers and transport providers.

“We took it to the field to determine what changes were acceptable and reasonable within the environment,” Northover said.

“The feedback was invaluable as it identified issues that had not been picked up. The input of our members was invaluable in providing realistic and thorough feedback to VicRoads.

“It was positive to see VicRoads proactively consulting with the industry and showing leadership in this area.”

With Victoria blazing the trail with its heavy vehicle legislation amendments, it is hoped that the rest of the country will follow suit, following a recent campaign by the National Farmers Federation urging for regulation uniformity.

“We are hopeful that the Victorian legislation will translate to national standards in March next year and that all states will agree with these changes, but we can’t be certain,” Northover said.